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In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:CHA PTER T WO 12. Because the word 'being' is used absolutely and with priority of substances, and only posteriorly and with qualification of accidents, essence is in substances truly and properly, in accidents only in some way with qualification. Further, some substances are simple and some are composed, and essence is in each.
But essence is in simple substances in a truer and more noble way, ac cording to which they also have a more noble exist ence; for they-at least that simple substance which is first, and which is God-are the cause of those which are composed. But because the essences of the simple substances are more hidden from us, we ought to begin with the essences of composed substances, so that we may progress more suitably in learning from what is easier. 12-13 lrt ( 12) and ( 13 ) St.
Thomas does two things. ( I ) He points out the order in which he will approach the second of the three tasks set out in the introduction, the investigation of the being and essence of various sorts of real thing. He will examine 49 50 On Being and Essence substances first, accidents last ( accidents are done in chapter seven); among substances, composed substances first, simple substances last ( simple substances are done in chapter five ); among simple substances, the human soul first, the intelli gences and God last. ( 2 ) He gives a reason why ( a ) essence is truly and properly in substances, whereas only in some qualified way in accidents, and (b ) why the being of the simple substances is more noble than that of composed sub stances. THE REASONS FORTHE ORDER IN APPROACHING THE SECONDTASK Apropos of investigating substances before accidents, it is to be noticed that St. Thomas does not suggest this order because it is easier for us to come to know, and to define, the essence of a substance than that of an accident. For some accidents are per se sensible.
Rather the reason is one of necessity. Accidents depend on substances, as on a subject, for their being. Since a statement of the essence of a thing should reveal the being of the thing defined-Le., its condition in the world-it is impos sible to come to know, and to define, the essence of an accident without a previous, or at least concomitant, effort to come to know, and to define, the essence of the substance on which it depends as on a subject.
Since it is difficult, perhaps impos sible, to come to know two things concomitantly, substance should be investigated before accidents. Apropos of investigating composed substances before simple ones, it is to be said again ( see page 23 ) that intellectual knowledge about sensibly perceivable things is easier for us than intellectual knowledge about things removed from sense observation. And lastly, apropos of investigating the human soul before the intelligences and God, it is to be noticed that each man has an inner and immediate experience of the thought and volitional activities of his soul; not so as regards Paragraphs 12-13 51 the thought and volitional activities of the intelligences and of God. Hence an investigation of the essence of the human soul is easier for us. A PossmLE OBJECTION The reason which St. Thomas appears to give here for claiming that essence is properly in substances, but only in some way in accidents, is the fact that the word 'being' is said analogically of substances and accidents: 'Because the word 'being' is used absolutely and with priority of substances, and only posteriorly and with qualification of accidents.'
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Aquinas Prime Matter
If this is in fact his reason, one must object to it on the grounds that priority and posterior ity in naming and predication is of itself no guarantee of a corresponding priority and posteriority in the reality of the things so named, as St. Thomas himself points out elsewhere.1 We name things in the order in which we know them, and what we come to know first may well in reality have a posterior position; for example, we know and name creatures before we come to know and name God. But perhaps St. Thomas can be interpreted as saying here in ( 12) that to say absolutely and with priority that substances are beings-i.e., that there is nothing on which substances depend in the way in which accidents depend on substances-is equivalent to saying that essence is in them properly and truly. And this can be.